Dataset Information

The association between child maltreatment and health risk behaviours and conditions throughout life in the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To estimate associations between all five types of child maltreatment (emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and exposure to domestic violence) and health risk behaviours and conditions.

Design, setting, participants

Nationally representative survey of Australian residents aged 16 years and older conducted by computer-assisted telephone interviewing.

Main outcome measures

Associations between child maltreatment and the following health risk behaviours and conditions: current smoker, binge drinking (at least weekly in past 12 months), cannabis dependence (according to the Cannabis Severity of Dependence Scale), obesity (based on body mass index), self-harm in past 12 months, and suicide attempt in past 12 months.

Results

A total of 8503 participants completed the survey. All five types of child maltreatment were associated with increased rates of all of the health risk behaviours and conditions that we considered. The strongest associations were in the youngest age group (16-24-year-olds). Sexual abuse and emotional abuse were associated with the highest odds of health risk behaviours and conditions. Cannabis dependence, self-harm and suicide attempts were most strongly associated with child maltreatment. Experiencing more than one type of child maltreatment was associated with higher rates of health risk behaviours and conditions than experiencing one type of child maltreatment.

Conclusions

Child maltreatment is associated with substantially increased rates of health risk behaviours and conditions. Prevention and intervention efforts should be informed by trauma histories, and holistic psychosocial care should be incorporated into programs focusing on behaviour change.

SUBMITTER: Lawrence DM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10952518 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The association between child maltreatment and health risk behaviours and conditions throughout life in the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

Lawrence David M DM Hunt Anna A Mathews Ben B Haslam Divna M DM Malacova Eva E Dunne Michael P MP Erskine Holly E HE Higgins Daryl J DJ Finkelhor David D Pacella Rosana R Meinck Franziska F Thomas Hannah J HJ Scott James G JG

The Medical journal of Australia 20230401

<h4>Objective</h4>To estimate associations between all five types of child maltreatment (emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and exposure to domestic violence) and health risk behaviours and conditions.<h4>Design, setting, participants</h4>Nationally representative survey of Australian residents aged 16 years and older conducted by computer-assisted telephone interviewing.<h4>Main outcome measures</h4>Associations between child maltreatment and the following health risk behav ...[more]

PMID: 37004181

Similar Datasets

Project description:ObjectivesTo examine the associations between experiences of child maltreatment and mental disorders in the Australian population.DesignPopulation-representative survey conducted by computer-assisted telephone interviewing.Setting, participantsAustralian residents aged 16 years and older.Main outcome measuresMental disorder diagnoses of lifetime major depressive disorder, current alcohol use disorder (mild, moderate and severe), current generalised anxiety disorder and current post-traumatic stress disorder.ResultsMore than one in three Australians (3606/8503 surveyed participants; 38.0%; 95% CI, 36.7-39.3%) met the diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder. The prevalence of mental disorders in non-maltreated participants was 21.6% (95% CI, 19.9-23.3%; n = 851). This increased to 36.2% (95% CI, 33.5-38.9%; n = 764) for those who experienced a single type of maltreatment and 54.8% (95% CI, 52.6-56.9%; n = 1991) for participants who experienced multi-type maltreatment. Compared with non-maltreated Australians, maltreated participants had about three times the odds of any mental disorder (odds ratio [OR], 2.82; 95% CI, 2.47-3.22), generalised anxiety disorder (OR, 3.14; 95% CI, 2.48-3.97), major depressive disorder (OR, 3.19; 95% CI, 2.68-3.80) and severe alcohol use disorder (OR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.83-3.76), and almost five times the odds of post-traumatic stress disorder (OR, 4.60; 95% CI, 3.00-7.07). Associations between experiences of child maltreatment and mental disorders were strongest for sexual abuse, emotional abuse and multi-type maltreatment. The strength of the associations did not differ by gender. Adjustment for childhood and current financial hardship and for current socio-economic status did not significantly attenuate the associations.ConclusionsMental disorders are significantly more likely to occur in individuals who experience child maltreatment, particularly multi-type maltreatment. Prevention of child maltreatment provides an opportunity to substantially reduce the prevalence of mental illness and improve the health of the Australian population.

Project description:ObjectivesTo examine associations between child maltreatment and health service use, both overall, by type and by the number of types of maltreatment reported.Design, settingCross-sectional, retrospective survey using the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire-R2: Adapted Version (Australian Child Maltreatment Study); computer-assisted mobile telephone interviews using random digit dialling, Australia, 9 April - 11 October 2021.ParticipantsAustralians aged 16 years or more. The target sample size was 8500 respondents: 3500 people aged 16-24 years and 1000 respondents each from the five age groups (25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65 years or more).Main outcome measuresSelf-reported health service use during the past twelve months: hospital admissions, length of stay, and reasons for admission; and numbers of consultations with health care professionals, overall and by type. Associations between maltreatment and health service use are reported as odds ratios adjusted for age group, gender, socio-economic status, financial hardship (childhood and current), and geographic remoteness.ResultsA total of 8503 participants completed the survey. Respondents who had experienced child maltreatment were significantly more likely than those who had not to report a hospital admission during the preceding twelve months (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-1.66), particularly admission with a mental disorder (aOR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.03-5.6). The likelihood of six or more visits to general practitioners (aOR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.87-3.02) or of a consultation with a mental health nurse (aOR, 2.67; 95% CI, 1.75-4.06), psychologist (aOR, 2.40; 95% CI, 2.00-2.88), or psychiatrist (aOR, 3.02; 95% CI, 2.25-4.04) were each higher for people who reported maltreatment during childhood. People who reported three or more maltreatment types were generally most likely to report greater health service use.ConclusionsChild maltreatment has a major impact on health service use. Early, targeted interventions are vital, not only for supporting children directly, but also for their longer term wellbeing and reducing their health system use throughout life.

Project description:ObjectivesTo describe the aims, design, methodology, and respondent sample representativeness of the Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS).Design, settingCross-sectional, retrospective survey; computer-assisted mobile telephone interviewing using random digit dialling (computer-generated), Australia, 9 April - 11 October 2021.ParticipantsPeople aged 16 years or more. The target sample size was 8500 respondents: 3500 people aged 16-24 years and 1000 respondents each from five further age groups (25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65 years or more).Main outcome measuresPrimary outcomes: Emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exposure to domestic violence during childhood, assessed with the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire-R2 Adapted Version (Australian Child Maltreatment Study).Secondary outcomesselected mental disorder diagnoses (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, MINI), selected physical health conditions, health risk behaviours, health service use.ResultsThe demographic characteristics of the ACMS sample were similar to those of the Australian population in 2016 with respect to gender, Indigenous status, region and remoteness category of residence, and marital status, but larger proportions of participants were born in Australia, lived in areas of higher socio-economic status, had tertiary qualifications, and had income greater than $1250 per week. Population weights were derived to adjust for these differences. Associations between the number of calls required to recruit participants and maltreatment rates and health outcomes were not statistically significant.ConclusionsThe ACMS provides the first reliable estimates of the prevalence of each type of child maltreatment in Australia. These estimates, and those of associated mental health and health risk behaviours reported in this supplement can inform policy and practice initiatives for reducing the prevalence of child maltreatment and its consequences. Our benchmark study also provides baseline data for repeated waves of the ACMS that will assess the effectiveness of these initiatives.

Project description:BackgroundChild maltreatment causes substantial morbidity and mortality in the U.S. Morbidity associated with child maltreatment can reduce health-related quality of life. Accurately measuring the reduction in quality of life associated with child maltreatment is essential to the economic evaluation of educational programs and interventions to reduce the incidence of child maltreatment. The objective of this study was to review the literature for existing approaches and instruments for measuring quality-of-life for child maltreatment outcomes.MethodsWe reviewed the current literature to identify current approaches to valuing child maltreatment outcomes for economic evaluations. We also reviewed available preference-based generic QOL instruments (EQ-5D, HUI, QWB, SF-6D) for appropriateness in measuring change in quality of life due to child maltreatment.ResultsWe did not identify any studies that directly evaluated quality-of-life in maltreated children. We identified 4 studies that evaluated quality of life for adult survivors of child maltreatment and 8 studies that measured quality-of-life for pediatric injury not related to child maltreatment. No study reported quality-of-life values for children younger than age 3. Currently available preference-based QOL instruments (EQ-5D, HUI, QWB, SF-6D) have been developed primarily for adults with the exception of the Health Utilities Index. These instruments do not include many of the domains identified as being important in capturing changes in quality of life for child maltreatment, such as potential for growth and development or psychological sequelae specific to maltreatment.ConclusionRecommendations for valuing preference-based quality-of-life for child maltreatment will vary by developmental level and type of maltreatment. In the short-term, available multi-attribute utility instruments should be considered in the context of the type of child maltreatment being measured. However, if relevant domains are not included in existing instruments or if valuing health for children less than 6 years of age, direct valuation with a proxy respondent is recommended. The choice of a proxy respondent is not clear in the case of child maltreatment since the parent may not be a suitable proxy. Adult survivors should be considered as appropriate proxies. Longer-term research should focus on identifying the key domains for measuring child health and the development of preference-based quality-of-life instruments that are appropriate for valuing child maltreatment outcomes.

Project description:ObjectiveThis study investigates the associations between maternal health and health-related behaviours (nutrition, physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking) both during pregnancy and up to 15 months from childbirth and children's health outcomes during infancy and adolescence (general health, presence of a chronic illness, and physical health outcome index).MethodsThis study used Wave 1 (2004) and Wave 7 (2016) data from the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Children (LSAC). We measured mothers' general health, presence of a medical condition during pregnancy and mental health during pregnancy or in the year after childbirth. We subsequently measured the children's general health, presence of a medical condition, and physical health outcome index at ages 0-1 (infancy) and 12-13 (adolescence). Binary logistic and linear regression analyses were performed to examine the association between the mothers' health-related variables and their children's health.ResultsOur results showed that poor general health of the mother in the year after childbirth was associated with higher odds of poor health in infants and adolescents in all three dimensions: poor general health (OR: 3.13, 95% CI: 2.16-4.52 for infants; OR: 1.39, 95% CI: 0.95-2.04 for adolescents), presence of a chronic condition (OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.19-1.81 for adolescents) and lower physical health score (b = -0.94, p-value <0.05 for adolescents). Our study also revealed that the presence of a chronic condition in mothers during pregnancy significantly increased the likelihood of the presence of a chronic condition in their offspring during infancy (OR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.12-1.54) and during adolescence (OR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.20-1.75). The study found that stressful life events faced by mothers increase the odds of poor general health or any chronic illness during adolescence, while stress, anxiety or depression during pregnancy and psychological distress in the year after childbirth increase the odds of any chronic illness during infancy.ConclusionsThe present study found evidence that poor maternal physical and mental health during pregnancy or up to 15 months from childbirth has adverse health consequences for their offspring as measured by general health, presence of chronic health conditions, and physical health index scores. This suggests that initiatives to improve maternal physical and mental health would not only improve child health but would also reduce the national health burden.

Dataset Information

The association between child maltreatment and health risk behaviours and conditions throughout life in the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

Objective

Design, setting, participants

Main outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

The association between child maltreatment and health risk behaviours and conditions throughout life in the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

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